Wednesday, October 31, 2012

last week i had to take a quick work trip to vegas. one of my co-workers mentioned that his cousin had just moved to the area and was a chocolatier working for a world-famous chef. he had barely extended an invitation to a tasting before i was jumping up and down for joy while trying not to get drool on anyone.

jean-marie auboine is a famous pastry chef and chocolatier. he started Chocolate Concept in vegas this year and has been growing like crazy. after a private tour and tasting, i understand why. his bon bons melt in your mouth with an amazingly perfect balance of flavor. we tasted so many delicious varieties! and jean-marie was very friendly and generous.

it was neat to walk through the kitchens and see all of the equipment and the different stages of preparation. sometimes there are classes for different specialties featuring jean-marie himself or other famous chefs as instructors. if i lived closer, i'd be very tempted to sign up for one or two! thank you to tina and jean-marie for the special tour and treats!

Monday, October 29, 2012

i love scary stuff. i get pretty pumped about stephen king, american horror story, and most horror movies (at least initially). so when i had to take a little trip to vegas for work, i was excited to see that eli roth's goretorium was open for business. if you're not familiar with eli roth, he's probably best known as the creator of the hostel movies. he was also in quentin tarentino's inglorious basterds as the bear jew.

eli roth in inglorious basterds

anyhow, the goretorium is basically a haunted house open year-round. it's set in a a hotel where guests "mysteriously disappeared" for years before it was discovered that the twisted owners were disposing of guests in all kinds of gruesome manner, one of which included cooking and serving them up to other guests. the guide is self-toured through a maze filled with a mix of live actors, props and crazy special effects. we weren't allowed to take any photos or video but i don't think i could have managed anyhow. i screamed and jumped enough to work up a thirst so it was pretty convenient that it ended right next to the bar (with a great open street view) and hostel playing on the big screen.

this "blood donor" had me cracking up with all of her jokes and comments to passerbys

creepy baby heads at the end of the tour

there was so much detail that i feel like it would definitely be worth it to go through again. so if you enjoy a good little fright, i recommend checking out the goretorium the next time you hit the vegas strip. i bet it'll be extra special for halloween!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

we loved saraya's old nursery. we got to be really creative and had a lot of fun painting and decorating it. in case you never saw it, here are a few pics.

best tree ever

after we moved, we felt both excitement and trepidation about decorating her new room. how would we ever replicate that awesome tree?! after a lot of back and forth on details, we finally got the room done. justin took the opportunity to get the painting portion done while i was away for a work trip (i'm starting to notice a productivity trend when i'm absent) and i came up with the layout. i wanted to incorporate a lot of special things that don't necessarily fit into a "theme" so it may seem random but we love it. and most importantly, she loves it. she proudly says "look at MY room!"

her growth chart and an early picture of mama and daddy when we were dating. she likes standing on her piggy stool (a gift) and making funny faces in the mirror.

the top picture is her name in korean and the hanging is a little korean girl in her han bok. it's made of paper and thread.

sunset is her favorite time. she loves to wave and yell "bye bye sun!" she is also in love with trains right now and this table was a gift.

the painting of the colorado rockies above the dresser was made for me by my sponsor family's second oldest child around 1997. she's in college now and still makes beautiful art.

my little sister painted our hands. you can also see her extensive seuss collection.

and justin's mom made this gorgeous native alaskan beaded piece. we really have a lot of talented family and friends.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

i got bangs again! also, this is my take on the denim on denim look. red chambray shirt from old navy, red jeans from target, and nude pumps from nordstrom rack. necklaces from anthropologie and oh, hello friend.